Doggie Doors

Do people actually use doggy doors any more? It seems like you see them in the movies still, but how often are they really in house doors? I think most people want to control when their dogs are going in and out of the house, and they also want a solid door for safety's sake instead of a flap that can be opened any time.

 

I couldn't possibly have a doggie door at my house because of the sever snake problem. Years ago I had a Joe Blake in the house when I had a door open but now I have self closing screen doors. Mishka can open the screen doors to let herself in. I put a short loop of rope near the bottom and she uses her mouth to open the screen door far enough and squeezes inside. It saves her clawing holes in the mesh.

 

We do not have a dog door mainly for safety reasons.
Also we want to control the in and out of our dog since he seems to be noisy at night barking even those who just pass by the gate.

 

I guess it could be very convenient to have doggy doors because my Homer wants me to open the door for him thousands times a day. During summer I just keep it open, so he can run into the garden whenever he wants.

 

What is it about our pooches that want to go inside and out all day? Maybe we aren't exciting enough or they're waiting for the action.
If it's not warm enough for screen doors only our doors get a good scratching on both sides. They are more tap taps with the foot but with doggie toe nails they soon make bare patches.

 

I know a few people who have doggie doors. My brother has one. They have 4 dogs and he says it's easier than getting up each time. The Yorkie is too short to go out it by himself though.

Personally, I don't like the idea. I'd rather keep an eye on when Misha comes in and out. But, also, we have 4 legged animals around here: raccoon, opossum, skunk, squirrels, etc. My brother found a raccoon in his kitchen in the middle of the night. They come in through the doggie door! Of course, there are humans who might attempt coming through it too.

We have a sliding glass door. For the reasons above, I wouldn't leave it open. We are plagued with wasps in the Summer. We had them in our kitchen ceiling last year. What a freaky time that was!

Misha is good about asking to go out. She doesn't have accidents inside. I don't mind getting up to let her out. It lets her know I am in control, too.

 

I'm afraid we aren't exciting enough . Homers always watches me for a while, gets bored and runs into the garden to check if there are other dogs in the street. He hates if they walk on our sidewalk and always barks like crazy when he notices them

 

I don't think that anyone does use them anymore, and if they do, I haven't seen anyone that has one. I wouldn't dream of having one though. Aside from the fact that I would like to control the ins and out of my pup, I also wouldn't be able to because of the cold that we face each winter in Canada. I would imagine that it would let a lot of heat escape and therefore run the heating bill up. As an alternative though, I know a lot of people who are trying to teach their pups how to operate doors. My cousin for example, has taught her dog how to open the door leading to the backyard for when he has to go pee and he knows how to shut it when he comes it. It's kind of dangerous, because they could easily leave your door open, but it does help when she can't make it to the door when her dog needs to pee.

 

I wouldn't want to risk the dog leaving it open....and I prefer to keep my doors locked, so I don't particularly like the idea of leaving it unlocked and for the dog to use whenever he so chooses.

At the same time, that WOULD make it a whole lot easier and less time consuming for me. If he's that good at opening and shutting it, then more power to him!

 

Wow, Bellahpereira, your cousin must be great at training dogs - also this dog must be very intelligent. If my Homer knew how to open doors though, I wouldn't have any privacy

 

I'm not sure if I would say she's great at it, but she has had dogs all her life. Her dog is rather huge though, nothing like Homer or Rafa. I think that it helps that she doesn't treat her dogs as pets but rather family members and tries to talk to them and teach them what things mean and how to respond. I think that out of habit, or observation, the dog would have learned how to do it, even if she didn't want the dog to Luckily, the only door the dog knows how to open is the one heading to the backyard and not any of the other ones in the house